| 7/20/03
Some good news, some bad news. The good news is Randy went to the
Conejo Cruise across from his house and the head honcho had my chairs
and extinguisher. The bad news is I towed the race car and nephew
Scott and his buddy Chris drove the Gremlin to the Brand Blvd Car
Show in Glendale, and they wouldn’t allow “any trailered
cars.” We did get the Gremlin in, and the exposure was mega.
There were THOUSANDS of people there, from 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM. A
bit more bad news, the trailer got scraped on the gate getting it
out. I need to use the Powercaster henceforth, as the truck has too
big a turning radius to squeeze it by the awning and the fencing.
Having again hooked the trailer sidelights (500-watt halogens) on
the awning poles, I think I need to investigate some recessed nacelles
for the lights. Years back Randy and I had a plan to make some cheaply.
I need to think about that again. The Powercaster is hurting. Either
the motor is going away, or the switch is bad, or both. Monday will
hopefully see me taking a long drive to Powercaster, Brooks Chargers,
and Hi Torque Starters. This will be a big day of driving, and hopefully
similar accomplishment.
The Gremlin is running well, and maintains its cool nicely with the
two new electric fans. The Mercedes ran hot, and I found it both low
on water and very low on oil, like 5 quarts. It holds about 12, but
still, a lot of heat dissipation is lost running low fluids. It appears
better, though still unimpressive, as far as I’m concerned,
The mechanics say it is well within spec. I just don’t like
it. At 100 degrees Centigrade, it is 212 Fahrenheit. Not horrible
at all, but worrisome, nonetheless. It annoys me that its temp gauge
has only a small margin above that temp before it is considered hot.
Mercedes: Built like no other car in the world. Scott and Chris enjoyed
themselves, and Scott had a wonderful time driving a REAL hot rod,
versus his rice rocket stuff. It may have inspired him to move forward
on his Pantera restoration. I have lounged away half the day (I guess
I need the break), so now it’s back to polishing the TR-6, doing
a little Condor wiring, cleaning the garage, and ATTEMPTING to toss
some stuff. Oh, and I located a reasonably-priced Duramax diesel motor
for the dually. I actually found two, one for 10 grand with a trans
and computer, totally out of my range, and another engine only cheaper.
I’m now hunting around for Allison info for the trans, and hunting
also for the computer and harness. Hmm, maybe I’ll just take
the dually motor and toss it in the TR-6. JUST KIDDING!!
7/21/03
A little progress was made on the Duramax conversion project. I have
learned a little more about Allison transmissions, and am still searching
for a trans to mate up to the proposed Duramax purchase. It will be
educational, to say the least. I feel the project is reasonable, and
while certainly not cheap, will represent a good value once completed.
It will take several months to line up parts, etc. before commencing
the actual install. More fodder for updates. Now that swap WOULD free
up the dually motor for the TR-6-JUST KIDDING! Don’t know what
I’ll do with the engine, but that’s not the major issue
at the moment, although if I could get it sold, that would dramatically
help the whole process along.
Made the BIG triangle trip today to Temple City for the Powercaster,
East Pomona for the chargers, and Whittier for the FC starters. I
just swapped out the Powercaster for a new unit and made a decent
deal with the owner. It would have been about $400 to repair it, and
for $700 I got a new one and got rid of the old unit. Fair enough.
Went to Brooks chargers and the 24-volt charger had burned the wiring
right off one of the two diodes. Why that happened is interesting.
The leads appeared to be reversed (I THOUGHT we’d been all through
this years ago). I had been told years ago that the charger would
not be damaged in that case, it just wouldn’t charge. Why the
color coding is off again is mysterious, but would explain why I got
no charging lately. No matter, if the leads in the car match, no big.
I’ll check. But that may all be moot, as you’ll see in
a moment. The Schumacher 12-volt charger is also dead. So Fred Brooks
will be working on them. Went to IMI-Hi-Torque and owner Jack was
SO very helpful. They replaced the blown off gear on starter #1, and
changed the contact plate on the big 2 HP donut starter #2, both for
FREE. Sweet! I also spoke with Jack about the Ford starter not engaging,
and he and I both concluded, after a very kind educational treatise
and viewing of a cutaway starter, that I need a shim to move the starter
motor further forward and away from the flywheel. Here’s why:
if the solenoid does not push the starter gear far enough forward,
the contact plate inside will not be touched, and no power will go
to turn the starter motor. So all we’d hear is just a click
of the solenoid (YUP), and no action. I’ll pull the starter
down, take it apart, put in the spacer, and set it back in, hopefully
with good results. He gave me two shims just in case. We also discussed
the nuking of the starters on the FC, and it appears I just can’t
get them to live on 24 volts. So I’m going to put the batteries
in parallel tomorrow, and abandon the 8-year experiment on high RPM
starting. That also renders the dead Schauer 24-volt charger obsolete
for my purposes. I’ve left a message with Fred Brooks regarding
converting/trading it for a 12-volt model. Here’s the skinny
on that possible conversion: the size of the transformer determines
how much amperage the charger can deliver. In this case, mine is a
20-amp unit at 24 volts. At half the voltage, it SHOULD be able to
pump out 40-amps (at 12 volts). This would produce a MUCH faster charging
of the batteries, particularly between rounds at the track. This is
really what I was looking for all along. The Schauer is an automatic
charger, meaning it tapers off the charge rate as the batteries get
topped off, preventing them from being cooked or exploded. I don’t
know that the charger can be converted, but if so, then wondrous.
If not, want a cool charger, anyone? Ran into Jim Maher (the CIFCA
office is next door to IMI Hi-Torque), and he made the semis at Sacramento
and was low qualifier. Affirming my prediction of last week, it was
103 degrees in Sacramento until 6 PM. I missed nothing but heat. Apparently
the race went well.
I also took note of the trailer batteries yesterday, and they were
woefully low on water. Topped them off and have left the only charger
working here on trickle (2-amp setting) to top them off. I also need
to pull the race car out and repair the now-detached left side trailer
cabinets. A good bump apparently ripped loose some mounting screws,
and the cabinets are hinging from the top, not a good thing. Also,
I am going to attempt to power up the trailer brakes with the on-board
batteries, as they should be, and take advantage of the braking feature
on the Powercaster. It gets a little frustrating when the 10000# trailer
wants to keep moving! The use of the on-board battery also will allow
for the safety brake feature, which is designed to actuate the electric
brakes in case of a disconnection from the tow vehicle.
7/27/03
Got some things done, with essentially positive results on balance.
The Schauer charger is fixed, but could not be converted. I came home
and checked and indeed the charging plug on the car was reversed from
the contracts in the charging plug. I think Fred may have reversed
them to make them correct. He noted they were incorrect, and showed
me that. So I reversed them back to match the car wiring, and marked
the housing. I plugged it in and it charged just like it was supposed
to do. I also added a rubber grommet to the wiring, as the case and
wires were bare to each other, not a good thing. So I have a wonderfully
fixed 24-volt charger which I do not need anyone, unless I choose
to charge a couple of batteries at a time, which I did (on the Condor).
Yesterday Tiffany, the girl who kindly did the jump starting on the
FC a few weeks ago at the Conejo Cruise, came by with a friend, Josh,
and they were massively helpful. We moved a bunch of stuff out of
the garage (this is getting SO old moving stuff), rolled the car out,
and rewired the batteries. We then tried out the 12-volt starting,
perhaps a dozen times. We ran the car about 6 times in the garage,
with the fan no high speed!! We cranked on that starter mercilessly,
and it worked fine. The engine acted strangely, so I put the timing
light on it, and played with the timing a bit. In the midst of that,
we ran it low on fuel, so it got very weird at one point. We topped
it off, and with some difficulty got it started again (more cranking),
and basically farted around with the timing to no real avail. The
throttle response was good at one point, and the timing mark which
I’m using appears to be dead on the money from pulling off the
valve covers, checking the valves on #1 (compression stroke), and
all that.
All that done, we then turned our attention to the trailer cabinets.
Josh is a bright guy, a heavy equipment mechanic. I noted I was in
the process of getting a Duramax, and he assured me he could be very
helpful in the future as the project matured. We cut up some aluminum
channel and some wood strips, remounted the bottoms, added bountiful
screwing to the cabinets, affixed some loose door tracks, and got
them back solid. I also continued and put in the second set of shelves.
This required a LOT of fabricating of the ledgers along the backs
and sides of the cabinets. Attaching these ledgers is tricky, as the
only supports are the aluminum studs in the trailer body, so I had
to set it up to match those. Worked until about 11:30 PM, long after
Tiff and Josh had left at around 6:30 PM, and got all but 3 of the
cabinets done. I’m heading out there now to complete those as
materials allow.
Another fellow, Ernie Costello, chatted at some length with me at
Flames on Friday night, and noted he had run a Nitro FC in the late
80’s, and now runs a Top Fuel Nostalgia dragster, turning 6.0’s
at 240 mph. That is sterling performance from a Nostalgia car, world
class performance. He was to come over yesterday, and called to postpone
it to today, which will work perfectly. Perhaps he can spur me to
get a firmer handle on our timing/fuel thing. Meanwhile, I’m
going to tune up some of the latches on one cabinet, finish some shelving
as possible, and do a little housekeeping in the trailer. I am encouraged
by Tiff’s interest, and her ability to connect with some qualified
friends to help. I put her in the seat for starting, and she looked
quite happy there. We talked about what it will take for her to get
an operation like mine, and she appears headed properly: involving
herself with a FC team, learning, and going to school to get her competition
license at Frank Hawley’s.
7/28/03
Got quite a bit done today as well: added some beautiful prefinished
maple to the front of the generator enclosure, rehung the light over
the bench (one socket is bad, however), hung the clipboard and the
Qwikdick license plate, finished the shelving, added some quick-pin
locks to all the cabinets, changed the closet and helmet area cabinets
to new earthquake latches, secured some carpeting on the wainscoting
where the toolbox had pulled it up, set the compressor back in, blew
the front of the trailer out with air, and welded up some brackets
to mount the wheelie bars on the wall. Also, I added some tabs to
the wheelie bars, drilled some critically sized 1/4” holes in
the end of the bars (near the wheels) to receive the pins for the
end of the netting, and drilled the netting to allow it to be mounted
to the top of the wheelie bars as a catch for the chutes, mounted
the broom in the front pole brackets in the trailer, added a little
rack to wind the winch remote control cable, and generally had a great
time getting stuff done. Of course this took until 1:24 AM this (Monday)
morning. That’s what a couple of late afternoon Starbuck’s
coffees will do. I need to go to Luky’s Hardware today (Monday)
after some sleep and get a dozen 1/4” x 1-1/2” quick-pins
(ball pins) to secure the cabinets and the wheelie bar netting. It
is wonderful to have two shelves in each cabinet now. They allow for
a LOT more storage. As mentioned MANY times before, this is a process,
not just a finished product. Racing is really about the process, as
there is precious little finished product (7 seconds at a time) to
live by. I really do get a thrill out of making things function well,
and look sweet. As noted often here, the ability to have things in
their places is delicious. It makes the process much easier, and keeps
everyone grounded and under control (including me). I’ve run
the motor enough now that there is significant condensation inside
the valve covers, so changing the oil is next on the agenda. Of course,
that is fairly easy, now that I have the Fram HP-6 filters in one
place in the trailer. Many teams have premeasured oil containers containing
a full load of oil and trans fluid, in our case 12 quarts of engine
oil (including the 3 quarts for the Accusump). The trans takes somewhere
around 11 quarts as well. We started last year with 7 (forgetting
the torque converter was empty and nuked the trans at Famoso in a
few seconds), so the additional gallon in the converter should make
about 11 quarts. We also need to set up a junk oil container. Right
now we’re using surplus 5-gallon gas cans, not well marked,
so not highly functional and predictable. As a side note, the new
Powercaster works very well.
7/28/03
Went to Luky’s, got all the 1/4” x 1-1/4” (that’s
all she had) quick-pins, 14 of them. Also got Randy his 4 blower restraint
pins, and some misc terminals, lanyards, sleeves, and 5/16 x 18 nuts,
all for a mere $80 (the pins were $3.50 each, being stainless steel).
Made up the lanyards, attached them, and all is good in the trailer
on that account. Now that the bench in there is cleared, I have to
decide on how I want to finish that off. I’d like to cover it
in stainless, with perhaps a small section of rubber for some sensitive
parts. I have to get some more aluminum angle to cover the openings
around the air conditioner, as I used up all the stock for that on
the shelving supports. I also need to put some flat aluminum, perhaps
1-1/2” wide, across the junction of some of the ceiling panels,
as the water leakage from the incomplete skylights (completed a few
months ago by former employee ET3) had warped the panels and pulled
out the screws near the edges. That might just need to be the new
theme on the ceiling and panel junctions elsewhere in the trailer.
The wheelie bars look nice up and secure up on the trailer wall, out
of harm’s way and INCESSANT tripping. However, the netting will
have to be disconnected at one end or the bracketing will hang up
on it when I hang up the bars. No biggie there. I’m now looking
to put a drawer up front under the bench, clean the oak floor up once
again, mount some additional D-rings to covers some old holes, set
a latch on the generator door, so I don’t have to unscrew it
to open it, yet maintain a good seal.
7/30/03
Mark and I came up with a double quick-pin arrangement for the generator
door, which will work nicely. Randy stopped by, and we started up
the FC, and found it not crisp. We need to make some laps and see
how it reacts coming off of about 3500 RPM on the transbrake, whether
it is making power, etc. Sent a confirmation email back to a fellow
in Pennsylvania today regarding the Gremlin and a straight across
trade for an 87 Buick Grand National. I also got another scam attempt,
this time requesting I divulge my bank acct# and routing info. I don’t
think so!!! If the Buick responds tonight or tomorrow, it will be
a done deal. We’ll each just pay our own shipping and off they
go.
7/31/03
The Buick has responded, but I still await a personal phone call confirming
the deal. The scam jerkoff trying to steal my account info using the
Gremlin as bait will NOT get what he wants. I have informed him that
he may safely have my bank routing #, but not my acct#. There is a
procedure called “PUPID” which stands roughly for Pick
Up with Proof of Identification. The guy is apparently trying to forge
checks and/or just steal from my bank account, neither of which will
happen here. If he is serious about the car, which I strongly doubt,
then I’ll have money in my account soon. Failing that (a near
certainty), I should be shipping the Gremlin to Pennsylvania shortly
in return or a Grand National (oh, do read on……….).
Started the car up yesterday with Randy, and again today for a contractor
fellow who came by to discuss co-venturing some jobs. It starts, but
it doesn’t sound quite right. We need some track time.
8/8/03
Nothing happening on the race car, although we are making some progress
on the gates/fencing out front which house the whole kaboodle. I am
adding about 1100’ of 5/8” square tubing to make the fencing
dog-impenetrable. That is about 200 pickets each about 5’ long
welded top and bottom, plus some bottom fill-in rails. This saves
having to reinstall a bunch of chicken wire, etc., and makes repainting
the fence down the road much easier, not to mention much nicer looking.
It’s been up about 14 years, been painted once in between, and
is way overdue.
On the car fronts, the Gremlin/Grand National trade appears to have
died. I think I called the guy accurately and sharply on his BSing
me, and he came up with a bunch of hooey to cover his crap. Bottom
line, no trade. Boy, have I ever had a load of horse crap people trying
to steal, BS, and connive me on that car!! I should have used this
car as a Secret Service sting operation! Rhetorical thought: is chicken
shit one or two words?? Anyway, the Condor sits idly as the Mercedes
continues to burn all the money earmarked for the Tbird finish, all
$10K of it. As noted often before, I now own a nice $15K MB. I just
didn’t want a high-dollar Benz. So I have lost over a year on
the Bird, and will never recover what I spent on the MB. It is incredibly
hot still (about 100 degrees every day), so outside work on the cars
is out of the question. The Gremlin sits with the rear brakes off
the left side under the outside awning, awaiting me getting some cables
from Hooper’s rear end to connect the parking brake, and for
them to also replace the right axle bearing and/or seal. I’m
tempted to have them pull out the spool at the same time. I just have
to get Sergei the Russian to pull out the whole housing and put it
in the Dually for a trip across the Valley. Now while I’m at
it I could have them narrow it, put in a posi, and spend another $1200
or so. NOT!!!
8/12/03
Got yet ANOTHER email scam attempt on the Gremlin this morning, this
time ostensibly from a London-based auto “dealer.” Just
another thinly disguised attempt to steal $10K and my car. I forwarded
this one to my skittish Buick trader just to demonstrate I wasn’t
kidding about the 15 scam attempts so far. Talked with Chuck Torok
this morning, a fellow Rodfather club member who drives a sweet 40
Ford panel delivery with a small block Chevy and automatic. This is
his daily driver, and one which he uses to go on long cruises and
vacations. A true street rod. Perfect. Anyway, he noted it was SOOOOOOOO
hot in the valley (he lives on his boat in the Marina), and couldn’t
imagine going racing in this weather. I concurred, and noted for him
that I need to get the Cool Suit back to Graves to get checked out.
I could actually have made great use of it on a daily basis for the
last few weeks just walking outside!!!
8/14/03
Saw what looked to be a pair of Hollywood Grahams in Sun Valley, but
have gotten no response from the owner. Why do people put up for sale
signs and their phone # and then not return calls? These may be some
40 Ford sedans, hard to say. In some GREAT news, I have the Duramax
motor and Allison trans sitting in the back of the dually right now.
I’d love to just hook them up in the bed! I have now to get
a hold of Tiffany (who called a little while ago) and her friend to
come down and look at the motor and trans and tell me what’s
needed. Let’s fantasize: how about a transfer case on the rear
end to allow either motor and trans combo to be used? Naw, that would
be too easy! On the Gremlin front I have put an ad for the motor and
trans alone. I have also done that for the dually engine and trans.
Who knows? Maybe someone will actually take me up on these two incredible
deals. I’m going to push hard to get the TR-6 presentable and
or listed on ebay and the Recycler in the next few days. In contracting
news, my lead framer and all around guy is gone as of this afternoon.
He just continued to hand me little shovelfuls of crap, and I just
let him bury himself today. So he talked himself right out of a job,
expecting me to beg him back. NOT. Now, that doesn’t help me
in the short term, as I had to grab an assistant and run down and
work the job today myself, but at least something got done. But as
with all things, how am I going to get to something better without
the need and the opening? I am attempting to apply that thinking to
the overage of cars situation, desperately trying not to continue
over-projecting myself. So the TR-6 is the most expendable, and I’m
pushing to move it out, much as I’d love to just whip a small
block chevy in there. So I’m passing on the motors on ebay,
just missed two really sweet pieces, and concentrating instead on
finding a mild SBC and trans for the Gremlin. If the Gremlin should
sell in present form, then I’d apply that engine and trans to
the TR-6. I suppose the really smart thing would be to wait until
both engines are sold before doing anything, and I might just do that.
I certainly need to off the dually engine/trans both for room and
the money to make the Duramax swap happen. Stay tuned.
8/18/03
Had a fellow named Jeff come by Saturday to look at the TR-6, and
promised to call me later that night to let me know if he was accepting
my killer offer. He also expressed deep interest in the Mercedes.
Of course, NOTHING. Discovered a leak from the Benz, probably something
in the rocker covers done by Aran. I’ll finds out tomorrow when
Lucas Auto looks at the air conditioning and why it is not cooling
more quickly. They did the install of the new compressor for Carter
Automotive a while back. Spent Sunday doing tool box trays. I HAD
many of the drawers already organized, but no one seems capable of
putting things back where they belong, so I made individual spots
for each tool, and double stacked trays in several drawers. I will
post some pix in the next few days. They look WONDERFUL. Got more
to make, but did 5 trays in three drawers. Once that is complete,
I will look to getting the toolbox itself tricked out. You know, the
stuff I’ve been ranting about for YEARS: painted or powder coated
parts, aluminum or stainless trim on the front, etc. It was empowering
to organize those drawers. More of that is needed, in MANY areas.
Tiffany bailed today, and will not be available for a couple of weeks.
I left a message for Josh regarding the Duramax motor, and hope to
connect with him tomorrow. I am NOT going to power up the TR-6, notwithstanding
I am on the hook after winning a 99 computer-controlled Chevy Tahoe
350 SBC motor on ebay. I WILL pull the Gremlin motor and swap it out
for the SBC, and see if that produces any change of interest in the
Gremlin. I COULD just put the dually motor in the Gremlin, but that
would be senseless. I am also going to just put the brakes and wheels
back on the Gremlin for now and stop this endless fixing up nonsense.
I can live without emergency brake cables and a narrower rear, as
I have for three years now. The axle seal leak is almost non-existent
anyway. You might notice I am getting short fused and frustrated with
lotsa things auto right now…..you’re correct. Randy says
I should just keep dropping the price until it is gone. He also might
be right.
8/19/03
No word from the “very interested” Jeff. So what else
is new? I put the two big blocks motors up for sale in the Recycler
this week, and no calls. Also been unable to reach Josh Hendricks,
Tiffany’s diesel mechanic friend. Aran cured my major oil leak.
Seems a bolt was loose on the front right side cam tensioner assembly,
an hydraulic device. Anyway, it’s fixed. Lucas Auto reports
my air conditioning in the Mercedes is among the coldest they’ve
ever tested. That is sad, as it takes quite a while on a hot day to
work. Joe explained that the parts are preheated on super hot days,
and that it takes quite some time to cool everything down. So the
Mercedes is presently as perfect as it can be. Oh joy! We are having
a little problem still with the Condor. Sergei pulled out the starter,
I put in the shim, and it does now engage and attempt to turn the
motor, but the motor feels nearly frozen, just as with the other starter.
There may be a serious problem here. The battery is toped off. Another
strangeness is the wires to the distributor from the ignition module
got smoking hot. VERY strange. It may be I had them connected to the
wrong terminals on the distributor, but why would they get hot? I
am going to give a call up to the dealer from whom I bought the motor.
Mike Kelly at Serramonte Ford says pull the plugs, hand crank it off
the crank. If it's tight, squirt some oil into the cylinders on the
chance a ring might be stuck. If bad, Ford will dismantle engine and
replace it if it’s their fault. If not bad, Ford will charge
$500. He reports Ford has stood behind other motors with problems.
I SURE hope it doesn’t come to this.
Sergei found he can turn the motor right off the alternator pulley,
so a seriously tight or jammed rotating assembly doesn’t seem
to be the issue. This brings a GUARDED sigh of relief for the moment.
We added another shim to the starter, but haven’t tried it yet.
The battery shows full charge, and only drops a volt under cranking
draw. So all that seems right. We still have the VERY odd heating
of the ignition wires to the distributor. I must be running a hot
wire to ground there.
Did some more tool box trays today. VERY rewarding. It is astonishing
to open the drawers and see everything EXACTLY in its place. That’s
because I made a place for EVERY thing. That’s how the system
works! I will be posting some pix of these in the next few days. After
7 years of rubbing on this operation, I’m beginning to think
I really just want to rub, and not run. Well, I REALLY do want to
run, but I’m happy I can take pride and satisfaction from these
mundane tasks (OK, they’re quite noble, really). It candidly
has required incredible fortitude and staying power to hang in and
keep working this thing. If I could just get rid of three cars, I’d
be cleared out and funded enough to polish the Condor and FC operation
pretty much off and get out on the track. That, and the temp dropping
about 25 degrees!! I know at least one person out there is enjoying
this protracted struggle. Thanks for your interest!!
In Gremlin news got yet ANOTHER scam attempt using the same old phony
cashier’s check/send me the difference by Western Union thing.
In Duramax diesel news I have discovered some tune up parts on ebay.
One is a $500 computer for boosting HP by as much as 110 HP! The other
is a 4” stainless exhaust system. I will have to do some research
and find out just what is really needed for this motor.
8/21/03
Sent a copy of the new scam to “Smoketree” (his email
handle) Buick Bill asking him to be careful, and inquiring one last
time if he is still interested in the Gremlin trade. He was slightly
deprecating in his “thanks” for my heads up for him, noting
he had a lot of lookers but not buyers on his car, and again blew
me off, stating he had been interested, but because of my “impatience”,
was no longer. He then ended his reply with, “but if you’re
willing to sweeten the pot” he might be interested. Go figure.
So, I offered to ship his car, adding about a thousand to the equation
in his favor. If he bites, great, if not, bite me. I had a long talk
with a neighbor (whom I didn’t know I had), who owns/runs a
school around the corner, John Williams. He has a LOT of stuff stored
on those school grounds. He is currently into a roundy round car,
and expressed interest in my blown BBC Gremlin motor to perk up his
lap times, as they can run anything they want. He also has an 88 Mustang
ready to be parted out. I am negotiating to get the HO 302 and AOD
trans, and probably will put that in the TR-6, although it would work
wondrously in the Gremlin, as the distributor is in front. I also
found I can get another of the motors I missed on ebay, a Mercruiser
350 Chevy, if I want. Jeff has still not responded, so that appears
dead, although should he call again and find out I already have the
very engine he wanted to put in the Triumph, he might get re-interested.
I will put the wheels back on the Gremlin tomorrow, take it to Flames,
and see if I find Jeff’s friend Mark there, and give him the
word on the 302 motor, etc.
I got a reply from the Duramax computer guy who says his package is
really designed for augmenting the towing power, exactly what I need.
I have to verify I have all the required computer stuff his system
needs before getting it. This little item will be down the round in
any event. Gotta get it running first!
The Condor starter finally sounded like it was working, but not because
of the shims. I added a direct ground from the engine to the battery.
I think the ignition wire to the distributor was trying to be the
main engine ground and that’s why there was no current to the
starter, and why that little wire fried. I will give it a try tomorrow
once I take care of several business appointments tonight.
8/22/03
The Mercedes curse continues: If you have paid attention, you might
recall that notwithstanding my buddy replacing the radiator and fan
assembly prior to me buying the car a little over a year ago, I had
to replace BOTH of them as well. Works, fine. Last night I hit a speed
bump and I hear a “clank” sound, a piece of metal falls
off the car, and I immediately smell coolant. I get out, and retrieve
a portion of the metal fan blade, which has broken off, and gouged
a hole in the brand new radiator. So Saul and I limp home, costing
wherever possible, at 10:30 PM. I ran the car around the corner this
morning to Sam at Allstate Radiator, and got to use my little electric
mini-bike to come home. Sam should have it done by noon, for a mere
$345. What a ludicrous situation that a $100K luxury car can’t
handle speed bump. I’m trying to figure out just how that blade
got to hitting anything, and the best I can figure is that the wider
stance front wheels hit the fender, moved the entire core support,
and somehow something moved enough. There is a very small gap between
the lower-mounted AC compressor and the fan blades, actually the blades
are notched for it. But the engine and fan move as a unit, so what
the heck happened here? Dunno.
Just more money stolen from the Condor project. Yuk! Sam thinks the
blade was already cracked. Again, more mystery.
8/23/03
More money. Now the Gremlin hits the inverse jackpot. Anthony, my
live-in architect, doinked the rear end of a Honda Civic last night,
taking out my Gremlin grille, and possibly damaging the radiator.
In possibly good news, (Smoke me?) Bill Smoketree has apparently taken
the “sweetened” offer. I have responded promptly, as usual,
asking for some shipping details, address, mileage to major cities,
etc. We’ll see if he takes umbrage at my promptness again. Now,
I have to find a grille for the Gremlin, and see what’s happening
with the radiator. It lost some water, and appears to have a small
leak. The core support was bent as Anthony just touched her bumper
right at the hood latch bracket, which was bent slightly. No other
serious damage to fenders or hood, just around the grille. Her car
suffered only a scratched bumper cover, and her car is scheduled for
repair by me at Hamrick’s on Tuesday
8/23/03
For a front end hit, Anthony did a surgically fine job of hurting
almost nothing. Of course, I spent, along with Anthony after, about
two hours printing out ten pages of AMC vendors, and phoning all over
the country this morning for a grille. No need. I have the original
grille, which can be repainted and used. And happily, I got an email
back from Bill, who is apparently going through with our deal. He
was to call tonight and did not. But I have his address and zip, and
have already contacted a shipper and requested quotes for both cars.
I will pull the grille and radiator tomorrow and do some checking,
and perhaps move some parts around to their original positions. I
will call Hoopers again on Monday and ask if they want the car driven
in to change to right axle seal, or have us take it out of the car.
Nick at Hamrick’s is out of town, so the grille surround massaging
and paint touch up on it and the hood will have to wait until at least
the end of the week when he returns.
Got a short message from Bill’s girl friend indicating he was
busy and would be calling me Sunday. So it appears serious now. I
am shooting for a shipping date of Sept 2 for both cars. Anthony and
Dan and I went out to Wendy Drive tonight and saw some very nice cars
again. Left my card with a few guys regarding selling the dually motor,
and may have someone who wants it for a boat. Just fine with me. I
am clear now I MUST get the excess cars outa here. I also need to
get the Mercedes on ebay, as well as the TR-6. I am going to check
with John Williams Monday regarding how much he wants for the Mustang
engine and trans, and may offer it as a package deal with the TR-6.
While at Flames, and just before learning of Anthony’s crunch
in the Gremlin, I was talking to Lind, one of our Rodfathers, who
has the clone Tbird I mentioned sometime ago. He just repainted it
about 18 months ago, and has done about $5K of work on it in the last
year. He is now selling it, and I am very interested. If I can rid
myself of some cars, I can have a GOOD daily driver whilst finishing
the Condor (hmm, sound familiar?). I just GOTTA get out of the Benz.
I honestly don’t want two Birds, but at the rate this is going,
I’ll need one while I work again on the dually nd finish the
Condor. Hopefully (is that my unfavoritist but most-used word?), I
can escape serious fiscal damage on this one.
8/24/03
Anthony and I spent about 3 hours on the Gremlin, and there is a little
more damage than first met the eye. The center grille support/hood
latch bracket was quite tweaked, but an hour of pounding and twisting
got it right. The grille surround metal was quite folded, but it too
came mostly around, at least close. We trial fit the original grille
and noticed that the right fender is buckled at the top of the wheel
well. Very minor, but not right. So with the radiator out, and looking
like the core is history, the fans out, the sheet metal a little straighter,
the car is on the race car trailer ready for delivery to Hamricks
or JM Auto Works, whoever can take it first. We had to put the slicks
on the Gremlin to get it in the trailer, as the steel wheels are offset
about an inch less overall side to side than the aluminum Eagle rims,
JUST enough to get the car in the trailer. The trailer is 96”
overall OUTSIDE, less the framing, and less the 11” on each
side for storage. I have 72” between the wheel wells in the
trailer, including the extensions of those wheel wells for fuel bottles
and oil to the rear of the trailer. So a very hot afternoon of pounding
and accomplishment. Hurry home Nick!!
8/25/03
All is confirmed with Buick Bill. I will notify him when the hood
and grille paint and axle seal are done on the Gremlin, and I will
arrange to have the cars picked up simultaneously at both ends, and
I will pay for shipping on both.
We will FEDEX signed pink slips to each other with $500 bills of sale.
He may also be buying the 99 Chevy Tahoe motor I won on ebay, and
which I really did not want. Interestingly, his business is parting
out cars. Unlike me, he has 8 ACRES on which to store his toys, and
he has many. Nick will not be home until at least the end of the week,
and the boys at the shop do not want the car, as Nick will be the
one working on it. I tried to reach Joe Montalto to no avail, to see
if he could get on it sooner. I also located a new grille, and will
go that way. I’ll get the radiator over to Allsate tomorrow
(today was nuclear), and go on the hunt for a new clutch fan assembly,
perhaps at Pep Boys.
My intention is NOT to keep the Buick, not at all. Of course, I may
fall in love with 18 psi of turbo boost, but I really am making the
trade to get a more saleable piece.
Here’s the dream scenario right now: the TR sells quickly,
along with a Mustang 302 engine and AOD trans (not installed) to sweeten
the deal, all for $3K. The Benz goes bye-bye from the Dupont Registry
ad for $11,500. The dually motor and trans get picked up by one of
my cruise night buddies for $3600, Buick Bill takes the Tahoe motor
off my hands, the GN arrives and is sold in a week for $12000, I get
the clone car, the Condor gets done, and the Duramax gets installed
in fairly easy fashion. Oh, and I sell the Mercruiser injection for
$1100. Let’s not forget about the boat headers for $200 on ebay,
either. See? Lotsa stuff to clear out.
With all that done (your SERIOUS prayers and help will be appreciated,
including 10% cash bonuses for selling any of the above), I will poised
to start enjoying the race car, driving the Condor, and quelling the
hemorrhage of money into the “projects.” Now THERE is
a concept.
Mil Spec wiz Rob Anderson has sent me plans for his garage cabinets
using my trademarked “drawerganizer” systems. I am trading
him labor as thanks for his helping me on the Condor stereo amp repairs.
8/28/03
Remember that dream list of a few days ago? In an astonishing turn
of events (could it be Mars at its closest affecting all this?) a
fellow named Josh Nasbitt called from Anaheim inquiring about the
two BBC motors. I told him the Gremlin’ BBC blown motor is gone
for all practical purposes, and the dually motor is available. Short
story: he came out, heard it run, handed me cash, ALMOST took the
TR-6, and bought the Mercruiser injection as well. So in one fell
swoop (once we get the engine out today), two HUGE pieces of gear
are OUTA here! Buick Bill expressed interest, but asked that I wait
a week or two until things settled down for him. No problem now. In
order to do this removal, we had to move the Bird forward, the TR-6
sideways, and the race car into the trailer. AND, we had to figure
a way to get the 1300# of separate engine and transmission out of
the bed of the dually. Using some clever strapping and NO bolts, we
put the Duramax in three slings and using the garage hoist system
set it on a dolly, and ditto for the Allison trans. So those are both
on dollies and wheelable. The bad news is the Duramax motor is much
more damaged than QC Parts suggested. Several brackets are broken,
and the intake is snapped off the manifold. So the parts hunt is on.
Maddeningly, this appears to be a mostly metric bolt motor, with a
lot of 12-point heads. This will require some new tools.
The Gremlin sheet metal work is done, the fender did not need painting
as it snapped back, the grille surround and latch assembly are straight,
the hinges oiled, the grille pieced back together using the old unit,
some new grille brackets made, and the parts will be painted tomorrow,
Friday.
The radiator is ready for pickup. So I’m planning on taking
the radiator over there and assembling it and driving it back. I may
just use the old fan clutch as is. The fan looks odd, as one blade
is not symmetrical to the others. I may just not use it for now, and
see how it cools on just the electrics. I’m on the way to get
the Mercedes, as it is now my only driver. I’ll switch it tonight
with the girl whom Anthony tapped, and get her bumper painted tomorrow.
Got the Benz back, and they could find no gas leak. Perhaps Aran is
right and the cap was just on loose. It has gotten too late for the
switch, unless I can track her down tomorrow.
In pulling out the dually motor, we found the starter was bad (which
explains a lot of the won’t start stuff for quite a while),
and AutoZone is making good on their warranty. I snuck in just as
they closed the store, and they had one in stock. So Josh will get
a new starter in his bargain. Sergei did most of the pullout work,
with a bit of help from me, and the motor is out, on the pallet, ready
for anchoring for shipping. We cleaned it up a bit with lacquer thinner,
and it is a turnkey piece, ready for his Minaro (Camaro in Australia).
He’ll need his own mounts, as we’re holding onto mine
in case the Duramax can use them. I’m giving him the trans yoke,
as the Allison yoke is HUGE. I have no clue as yet as to how that
engine and trans will or won’t fit. All I can do for now is
bolt them together. Get it on the hoists, and start pushing it in
and out (probably a lot). And I really need a Duramax-savvy guy to
give me some info on what I need and where to get it.
8/29/03
WHEW!! What a 24 hours! Literally aerobic. Got the engine on a pallet
today, including some major cutting down of large lumber on the pallet
to JUST get it to squeeze into a rental truck (60 inches wide through
the tailgate opening). I had to rent the truck as they needed a CALIF
license (their international licenses weren’t good enough).
All done, got all the money, and he’s on his way to Carson to
drop off the pallet. I’ll see him in a few hours to return the
rental.
Going to pick up the radiator for the Gremlin and get that in right
now. Sam did not find a three-row core to match mine, so got me a
4-row unit. Buick Bill is making out big time. I also bought a new
fan clutch at Pep Boys. Joe Montalto will install it all, and will
do something extra: he is trimming the rear wheel wells to clear the
tires so there is no more squat and rub, allowing the rear to come
down off the air shocks. That will make the stance and ride nicer.
This was the situation that had me exploring narrowing the rear end,
which would not have helped the situation at all. There is still some
issue with the front tires rubbing, but Buick Bill knows that. I suggested
a spacer under the front coils to help that. Of course, he could go
to smaller tires. So as usual, I am going the extra distance to make
the car nice. I will take it to Hopper’s Tuesday morning and
do a while-I-wait deal on the axle seal. Then, it’s call the
trucker for shipment to PA. I’m exploring a possibly better
deal through a friend of Richard Baida, who loaned me the dough to
buy the Duramax motor. This friend hauls cars around the country!
We’ll see if something good come from it. I’m supposed
to be picking up the Gremlin Saturday morning (tomorrow). I certainly
hope Buick Bill’s GN is as nice as he portrays. He says the
AC is not working. He claims it just needs recharging. I might just
ask him to do that.
8/31/03
Montalto called Saturday morning and said it was almost ready, but
he had not trimmed the wheel wells, I told him to keep it over the
weekend (I don’t need any more parking spaces taken here), and
I’ll get it Tuesday and take it to Hopper’s. I put a called
into Nick at the body shop and asked if he had any diesel guys for
the Duramax questions. He said he thought he might have someone. He
is supposed to come by today to look over the install and give me
his thoughts. It’s 1:09 PM, which is early in the day for him,
and no show as yet. I will be leaving soon to go help good buddy Baida
with some more framing at his new house. He was SO kind to front me
the money for the Duramax, and I want to demonstrate my forthrightness
to the max. He and I are having great fun dong stuff together. Qwikdick
and HyperDick make a riotous team!!! He looked up a bunch of Duramax
stuff for me on the web to help me get a handle on the new system.
This guy is all action and no BS.
9/2/03
I joined the Diesel Page for $20, and lo and behold they have a Duramax
conversion happening. This is only the first installment, but one
important point was mentioned: the rheostat throttle. These motors
are throttle-by-wire, there is no linkage to the motor at all. Completely
computerized.. So the shifter, throttle, and MUCHO wiring need to
be changed. The “conversion” at Diesel Page is putting
in an all new dash. I hope I don’t have to go THERE. Nick is
still trying to remember a guy who does just such installs.
The Gremlin will be ready for paint pickup on Thursday with the wheel
wells trimmed and painted, and I’ll make a beeline to Hooper’s.
The OTHER car in Tony’s little rearender is at Nick’s
being done right now.
Sent ET3 an email about what is happening and he essentially reamed
me a new one for dismantling his beautiful work on the dually 454
install, and getting myself involved in another project. I noted for
him that I didn’t want to burn it up towing, a likely possibility
with a Vortech on it. Gas motors just don’t like lugging heavy
loads, diesels just EAT them up. I’m just trying to do the long
term best thing for the setup, and that Duramax is definitely the
best idea there. Personalities are wonderful things, if one doesn’t
have to deal with them. I invited him to do some electronic stuff,
which is where he just loves to be, but I’m confident I’ll
not hear much from him on being involved. I have found a great electronic
tech in Acob, and he is happy and responsive to the electronic projects
here. I got an inquiry from Jeff Seraphine of CIFCA, wondering where
the hell I am with racing. I gave him the full rundown: too hot and
too broke.
As noted dozens of times in the past: SPONSORSHIP WELCOME!!!!
Manpower in the construction biz is at a way low point, and I’ve
been pressed into service on several jobs lately. Love the work, hate
the business.
9/6/03
The temp has remained 100+ essentially non-stop for weeks. The work
truck has no AC, and I’m motivated to get a Vintage Air system
for it, as soon as $ permits. That’s about $1200 plus labor
to install. We cn do that. So about $1500 to make it cool.
The Gremlin is ready to ship. Got it back from the shop after some
sniggling little details: the new radiator is a 4-core, and the new
fan clutch is slightly longer, both combined to make the clutch just
hit the central stiffening rod on the outside of the radiator core.
Once removed (not a necessary thing), all worked well. Had to do some
trimming up inside the shroud as well as the more forward position
of the fan allowed it t contact the stiffening ribs inside the shroud
if the shroud were pressed down slightly. Joe Montalto did a perfect
job matching the hood paint and corrected the burned off area around
the carb box from the Bob’s Big Boy fire. He opened the bottom
trailing edges of the rear wheel wells to provide more tire clearance,
which should allow Buick Bill to run the car with a lower stance.
Took the Gremlin this morning to Hooper’s and Rich Hooper corrected
the leaky right axle seal, and tack-welded the tinkling and loose
pinion slinger (a guard on the front of the pinion shaft, exterior
to the rear end). All better now, and complete. The little toy rides
tight and FAST, and got compliments on the way home, as usual. I’ve
completed the trucking order forms for both cars, got the Grand National’s
VIN# for shipping, and worked out the pink slip exchange details with
Bill. I’ll load up all the spare parts for him, FAX the order
to Able Auto Shippers, and await some action. I’ve done some
nice things for Bill on the car, and I’ve asked that he recharge
the AC on is GN for me. One snag may be that the car has no current
registration in PA, so I’ll investigate what that will require.
I presume I’ll have to smog it, and I’m again presuming
that should present no problem as the car is stock, except for a performance
boost chip.
Have a new guy working, George, who is into restoring wrecked cars.
So I might have a good mechanical staff between him and Sergei in
some off hours. I am seriously considering just giving the Triumph
back to Nick and letting him sell it. I’ll put some pix on ebay
and give it a whirl tomorrow and see what happens.
Still never heard from Josh on the Duramax, so contacted Rob Anderson,
who is considering the project. He said if he doesn’t do it
he will find me a competent person to do so. I went and looked at
a new Duramax truck, crawled underneath, and got my first round of
scoping the actual install. There are LOTS of little things we’ll
need to do, and many parts to procure. Rob is the PERFECT person for
this project, as it will take repeated and patient assays of what’s
needed, scouring for parts, and a diligent and relentless plan of
action with qualified techs. I can get the parts hopefully at cost
from good friend Peter Chinn at FH Dailey in San Leandro, and that
will help this along mightily. I’ll go on record here as saying
this is going to be a $5-8K deal, and will take 2-3 months if done
by someone else. As I sold the 454 crate motor, turbo 400 trans, and
Mercruiser injection for $4500, I have essentially gotten the Duramax
and Allison for nearly free. So that swap will entail just the install
costs, as guessed above. This will still be dramatically cheaper than
a $43K new truck, with essentially all of the benefits. I MAY need
a new radiator, intercooler, trans cooler, hydro brake/power steering
unit. AC evaporator, and motor mounts. And that’s just for starters.
The alternator may work, the AC compressor appears to be too large
to work, the exhaust will obviously need reworking or outright replacement,
although since I have true dual exhaust it might work with just a
Y-pipe and the addition of the HUGE stock catalytic converter.
9/9/03
Some amazing news: I shot pix of the Triumph TR-6 and posted an auction
on Ebay. It sold for the Buy it Now at $1100 within 2 hours!!. Sweet!
I am getting a quote on the shipping as soon as the buyer gives me
an address. Waiting to hear from the buyer right now. The Gremlin
is scheduled for pickup tomorrow evening or Thursday morning. Now
if I could only off the MB. This would sweeten the mix up. I’ll
post an auction a little later on the MB with a reserve at $8K once
I confirm the Dupont listing. I have not heard anything from the Dupont
Registry ad at $11,500, and I don’t know if it even has appeared
yet. Rob Anderson is out of town, so no progress on the Duramax. I
finally reached Josh and he said he was interested in the diesel project,
and would get back to me in a few days. I have one other fellow referred
by Nick Johns for the install as well.
Well, not all is sweet with the Triumph. The guy apparently didn’t
mean to buy it, so I re-listed it. I have asked him for the $43 re-listing
fee. If he balks, I’ll blacklist him. Randy is back in town,
and we are going to commence on his garage project starting tomorrow,
when I meet with “Roadhog” George Wallace about the excavation
for footings and grading.
9/10/03
In typical fashion, Roadhog did not make the first appointment yesterday,
and not the second one today, either. I will look for someone else
to get on this right away. I enjoy putting resources and work in the
hands of friends, but not at the expense of other friends and deadlines.
The Gremlin is GONE! The transporter pulled away about 45 minutes
ago, so the little toy is one its way to a new home and should arrive
in about 5 days. The Grand National does not have a firm pickup date
as yet.
The Triumph was re-listed and sold in a heartbeat, with two backup
buyers waiting. At $1100 it certainly was priced cheaply, and it went
like it. It will be picked up Monday, and most of the money is already
in my PayPal account. I’m working on Nick to get the transfer
papers and lien sale docs done to send to the buyer in Indiana.
So on Monday I should have yet another parking place free. Sweet!
We have commenced work on Richard Baida’s workshop/garage addition.
He was the fellow who shot the yellow on the FC. He also fronted me
the dough to buy the Duramax motor and Allison trans. So it has turned
out to be a win-win situation for both of us. I got the killer engine
deal, he got a killer workshop deal.
9/12/03
We have made progress on Baida’s, and will get an inspection
on Tuesday for the footings and slab. We have also started on Randy’s
garage, doing a lot of demo today. We’ll start his excavation
on Tuesday as well, moving a LOT of dirt and rock around with heavy
equipment. The TR6 is confirmed to be picked up Monday, still no schedule
for the Buick to be snatched up. Bill may have the Gremlin before
the Buick leaves. As soon as the Buick is lifted off the ground, the
ebay ad goes in. Maybe before, what the heck. Still no word from anyone
on doing the Duramax.
9/15/03
Reached Mike at Maaco, the recommendation from Nick Johns. Turns out
Mike did work on my truck about 15 years ago. I’ll leave out
the details. Bottom line: he is into performance, off-road cars now,
nothing else. In Gremlin news, Chrystal, Buick Bill’s girlfriend,
reports the Gremlin arrived, they LOVE it, and feel it is the fastest
car in town. The Buick is scheduled to be loaded on September 20th,
to arrive here within a week. Well, I’m SO glad they are happy
on their end. I’ll get the pink slip started to them tomorrow.
Rob Anderson has not made a decision on the Duramax as yet (he was
out of town all week), but will peruse the possibilities over a glass
of Merlot tonight at home.
9/21/03
So far, no pickup on the Buick. I have contacted a friend of Baida
who is headed back east right now. If the car has not been procured
in 5 days, he MAY pick it up, depending on his schedule. I’m
going to give Able Auto a call now and light a flame under their asses.
It is refreshing to see a lot of room, what with the Gremlin and TR-6
both gone. I’ll have Derek update the site this week to remove
the Gremlin, include the Buick, post this update, and massage a few
other items.
I had a moment of soberness on the Tbird: I met with Lin (a fellow
Rodfather)who owns a nice 93 red Super Coupe. I am over having to
have his, and will concentrate on making MINE what I want. I lose
sight of the limited resources, and I think I was just gravitating
toward a more finished product. I’ll continue pressing on mine
to make IT the finished product, and not squander resources on another
“interim driver” like the Mercedes. I’m going to
shoot some pix and post it on ebay today, as I’ve heard no responses
from the Dupont Registry ad for the Mercedes. I’m also going
to shoot the dually intake manifold parts, and the unused boat headers
for sale as well.
9/24/03
Got the trailer inside the garage for a different driveway look. Kinda
crowded inside the garage now. The Buick has been picked up from Pennsylvania
and should be here in about 5 days. I could use it now, as the Mercedes
is in the shop having yet another heating problem examined. I suspect
the head gaskets are not well, and it may be pushing or using water,
as no leaks appear anywhere, and a block test shows a slight change
in color. It just gets low on water in 3 or 4 days and gets hot. YUK!!!!!!!
Looks like Victor is not yet done with me.
On the Duramax front, I’m going to have the first session on
the dually with Roy Ransom on Friday. We’re going to adios the
AC condenser and core support and attempt to bolt up the engine and
trans for a trial fit. As I still have no metric tools which appear
appropriate to the bolts on the Duramax, I may have to visit my friendly
Sears store for some Craftsman metric or order some Cornwell tools
(Dean Skuza’s sponsor). Rob Anderson is still pondering the
project, and has not gotten back to me since my follow-up call to
him a week after our initial talk. Ditto for Josh Henrickson. I may
end up doing this whole thing myself (not the preferred route here).
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